


For Luck

by cmon_eileen



Category: U2 (Band)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, set in the early 80s, theyre babies and larry still has a bowl cut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 09:14:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17404166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cmon_eileen/pseuds/cmon_eileen
Summary: “Can you kiss me? Just for luck,” he adds the last bit quickly and refuses to look Adam in the eye, “you know, Bono and Edge do it for luck all the time, and I think it might be good to have luck on our side tonight.”





	For Luck

**Author's Note:**

> bruh this is my first u2 fic !!!!! i really appreciate feedback so please leave a comment : )

It isn’t fair that, career-defining show impending like this, Adam is so relaxed. 

So maybe career-defining is a bit of a stretch. But definitely this crowd is much bigger than what they’re used to, and if they screw this one up--well, it wouldn't be good for them.

Backstage, Bono is practically bouncing off the walls. He’s not so nervous as much as he is excited, it seems, an impossibly densely packed little ball of energy ready to burn himself out running back and forth across that stage. Larry doesn’t know how he does it sometimes, how long he manages to make his energy last. Even, or perhaps especially like this, when you can practically see his little heart trying to make a break for it, racing and hammering against his ribcage, he radiates so much charisma, is such a fascinating frontman. It’s no wonder he sauntered into the band and immediately took control.

And Edge, like he always does, dutifully follows Bono, through thick and thin, through heaven and hell, up and down the walls Bono’s bounding from, always along for the ride. Larry doesn’t have a clue how he does it; it seems utterly exhausting, more than anything. But Edge is loyal to a fault, long-suffering as a side effect, though “suffering” seems to have no place in how he follows Bono--it’s almost like he enjoys it. It’s not that Larry doesn’t love Bono, hell, it’s very hard not to, but the extent to which Edge puts up with him just seems tiring. So Edge mirror’s Bono’s enthusiasm, forever his shadow, some of that non-depletable energy just seeping, through Bono, into him.

Larry, too, he’s got that energy buzzing and thrashing and pecking inside him, like some kind of egg hatching, like something he’s trying to keep down. All this energy is nothing but nervousness. Maybe he’s a pessimist, but minutes until they’re due to burst out onto that stage and all he can think about is everything he’ll do wrong. Although he’d never, never show it outwardly, some of the nervousness is bursting at the seems, seeping through little cracks in the stoic stone, his fingers tapping aggressively just above his elbow where his arms are crossed protectively over his chest, his brow furrowed and strongly set in a far-off glare, watching Bono and Edge interact from across the room.

But then there’s Adam. Adam, completely calm, not a hint of nervousness, not bubbling over with exuberance, just a relaxed smile on his face while he fiddles with the tuners on his bass, runs his nimble fingers along the neck playing a few quiet notes, going back to adjust the tuners just a touch more. There’s no way Larry could not admire him, how composed he always seems, even up onstage, while Bono bounds all over the place and Edge loses himself in the music, Adam is always so strong, steady, his militaristic bass lines keeping steady time. 

And Bono and Edge are across the room but Adam is right near him, within arm’s length. Bono and Edge can have each other, Adam is his. Melody, they’re always up in the clouds, the both of them, and it’s silly from Larry’s point of view on the ground. He’s always felt like Adam is there with him, grounded, logical. Of course he loves his whole band to death (you’d have to strangle him to get him to admit it to them) but he always felt especially close to Adam. They’re rhythms, the two of them, there’s something that sets them apart. Larry catches himself staring.

The way he sees it, Bono would take his cues from Edge, from Adam, from Larry, from all of them. Edge would be relying on both Adam and Larry to keep time. But Adam, his attention is always solely on Larry, undivided, and Larry just preens under it. When he plays, a lot of the time, it feels like he’s playing for Adam and Adam alone. He feels oddly protective of him in a way. 

Adam glances up, probably having felt Larry’s gaze, and there isn’t enough time for him to redirect the direction of his eyes and make it seem like he hadn’t been staring, so his face just heats up while his eyes meet Adam’s and then dart aside to look at something less conspicuous. But out of the corner of his eye, Larry can see Adam’s lips twitch up into a little grin, and he melts all over again.

Staring into the space behind Adam, he catches Bono and Edge conversing again, and then comes someone’s voice calling “we’re on!” and it echoes through them with Bono’s excited “we’re on!” followed by Edge’s affirmative “we’re on” followed by Adam, his eyes shooting up to Larry’s while his head is still tilted down to look at him almost sultrily, and then break into a smile and repeat it. “We’re on,” he says, and “we’re on,” Larry thinks, over and over again in Adam’s voice. 

They stand, and Larry watches Bono and Edge exchange a quick kiss. He can’t help the way his face heats up upon watching them exchange this, however minor, display of affection. Bono’s always been very touchy, very in-your-face with his affections, and though that’s not who Larry is at all, part of him wishes it could be. 

Larry’s arms wrap back around himself a bit self-consciously, his face still worked up into a frown without even really realizing. 

But Adam seems to somehow take notice, and Larry feels a hand on his shoulder. “Are you nervous?” Adam asks, and were that question coming from literally anyone other than him, Larry would angrily insist that he wasn’t, but it’s Adam, and he can’t even force an ounce of frustration towards him. 

And so he just shrugs, leaning ever so subtly further against Adam’s touch, his steady gentle hand. “I guess,” he murmurs. And he lets himself show it, just a little, around Adam where it’s safe, he’s working his drumsticks in his hand, his foot is tapping against the floor. He swallows, frowning down at the ground. “Can we…”

Adam raises his eyebrows curiously after Larry doesn’t finish the sentence, leaving it hanging for a few seconds. “Can we what?” he urges kindly.

“Can--” Larry suddenly feels so stupid for even bringing it up, but he has to follow through now, plus, it’s Adam, probably the most trustworthy and understanding soul Larry has ever known, who’s never seemed to pass judgement even once, who will always seem to be willing to open up and understand and empathize and make you feel alright. Just how much Larry cherishes him hits him all again, as it seems to a lot. “Can you kiss me? Just for luck,” he adds the last bit quickly and refuses to look Adam in the eye, “you know, Bono and Edge do it for luck all the time, and I think it might be good to have luck on our side tonight.”

“For luck,” Adam replies, and Larry can hear the smirk in Adam’s voice, the bastard. He feels like he’s being mocked and he opens his mouth to tell Adam off with something, he doesn’t even know what, maybe he’ll tell him to fucking forget it, but then Adam’s lightly tilting Larry’s face toward his own with a finger under his chin and their lips are briefly together.

And it's over soon, nothing but a quick peck, really, but it’s a gentle and sweet little press of the lips that Larry misses as soon as it’s gone. 

His stern look is gone and his face has gone all blank and a little dazed, and what might be better than the kiss is the way Adam is looking at him right now, with a crooked little smile and eyes that look nothing but affectionate.

“We’ll do great,” he assures Larry, and with Adam looking at him like that, with such raw affection and honesty, Larry is inclined to believe him. 

And when he gets up there to perform, the show passes without a hitch.


End file.
